The other four Russian battleships suffered more or less severely. The _Pobieda_, for instance, had her masts carried away, and her heavy guns were put out of action. When the _Czarevitch_ got out of control, the Russian line was necessarily broken, and then the fleet seems to have suffered most severely. The command of the squadron passed to Prince Ukhtomsky, as second in rank to Admiral Witoft, and that of the cruiser division to Rear-Admiral Reitzenstein; and between the two there seem to have been divided counsels. The latter decided to cut his way southwards at any cost in accordance with the orders of the Czar. With the _Askold_, _Novik_, _Pallada_, and _Diana_, he became engaged with the Japanese cruisers, and by dint of hard fighting, in which the _Askold_ was badly mauled, he managed to get clear of the enemy, and in the early morning of the 13th reached Shanghai, having lost sight of the other cruisers. The _Askold_ had lost two of her five funnels, one of the boilers was injured, and her hull had been pierced in more than half a dozen places, both above and below the water-line. Prince Ukhtomsky preferred another course. When the signal had been displayed from the _Czarevitch_ "Admiral transfers command," the Prince, who was next in seniority, signalled from his ship, the _Peresviet_, "Follow me"--an order which, as we have seen, the cruiser division did not obey. But the battleships answered the signal; and the course steered was back to Port Arthur. In his dispatch the Prince said: "As my vessel had lost many killed and wounded, and her armament, hull and electric apparatus were seriously damaged, I decided to return to Port Arthur." Through the dark night the six battleships steamed slowly to their haven, repeated torpedo attacks compelling them again and again to change course, and finally to disperse. The _Czarevitch_, as we have seen, reached Kiao-chau almost in a sinking condition, while in the morning of the 11th, the _Peresviet_, the _Retvisan_, the _Sevastopol_, the _Pobieda_, the _Poltava_, and the cruiser _Pallada_ arrived again at the port which they had left twenty-four hours earlier. A list of nearly 400 killed and wounded was the witness to the severity of the punishment which these vessels had received. But it was evident that they were not so damaged as to have been incapable of continuing the attempt to break through to the south. Their return to Port Arthur rendered all that they had suffered vain. It meant that their situation was as precarious as ever, while their condition was less favorable for enduring it. The displeasure of the Czar was not long in manifesting itself. Hardly had the consternation of defeat subsided, than an Imperial order was issued removing the unhappy Prince Ukhtomsky from his command. Recalled he could not be, because the means of leaving Port Arthur were denied. [Illustration: RUSSIANS RECAPTURING THEIR LOST GUNS AT LIAO-YANG.] [Sidenote: Harbors of Refuge]